


There Was One Thing

by SittinGamer



Category: RWBY
Genre: Comfort, RWBY - Freeform, mental trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26925136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SittinGamer/pseuds/SittinGamer
Summary: Neo has to move on past the loss of her former boss, Roman Torchwick
Kudos: 6





	There Was One Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Posting this whilst semi-drunk and without extensive proofreading but I wanna get this out there. Its my first real longer term project I suppose. If I see ways to improve the first chap I'll edit it for sure. Gonna try to keep to a weekly upload schedule.

Neo was running.

It was all she had done since her boss and closest friend met an untimely end to mere circumstance alone. Since then, all Neo could do was run. Run away from her grief. Run towards her next target. If she stopped running, she could only wallow in her guilt and sorrow. A few nights of that and she resolved herself to run and not stop. Today was no different.

After some time spent traveling, the bicolor haired girl stopped in front of a bar. This had to be the place; all her intel led her here. The only truly responsible for Roman's death… Cinder Fall, was surely here. If not, well, Neo would just have to keep running for more leads and to another destination. Sure, Ruby Rose may have opened Hush and caused Neo to fly away uncontrollably in their last bout, but Neo wasn't stupid by any means. Ruby was maybe the direct cause, but that damned Grimm invasion was planned out by Cinder. Her and Roman were just two crooks caught up in a crime far above their pay grade and, unfortunately, it took his life.

-

It wasn't particularly long ago that this young woman led a happy, albeit criminal life. Only a year prior, she lived in relative peace and comfort. She would perform odd jobs and take down any opponent she was sent against by her only confidant, Roman Torchwick. He was no ordinary criminal, that man; he ruled the streets of Vale like no one else. Perhaps he was… ignorant… of the Faunus' plea for equality and perhaps even more a tad on the bigoted side towards the human-animal hybrids. Maybe he was a liar, a crook, and a thief, but despite all that, he was family to Neo. 

When she had nowhere to turn to in her younger pre teen years, the only hand held out to a small, weak, mute girl was the hand of Torchwick. She probably could have continued as a street rat. She did luck out with a very useful Semblance to her end: that of Overactive Imagination. An illusion and stealth based Semblance which can trick the minds of others to see falsehoods and hide the girl wherever she wishes to be. It was easy pickings to steal an apple here or there, pickpocket the occasional coin, or get away from those who would try to take advantage of her. Despite that, however, it left the young girl cripplingly lonely.

A friendless girl left alone in the streets with no voice was merely too sad a sight for the usually unfeeling Torchwick. He'd spent a number of weeks spying on the girl's routine after a chance encounter and eventually came to one of her hiding spots on a rainy day offering both food and comfort. The tiny girl, maybe 4 feet in size max and looking smaller still huddled drenched in the cold could only look up at the smiling man offering her food with total bewilderment in her eyes. Caution, too. After all, this was a mixture of classy and intimidating undertones that the man exuded. He had a large frame, only looking bigger still due to his expensive trench coat and stylish top hat. He had stylized orange bangs covering an eye and his whole ensemble gave off the impression he was a man very keen on appearances, and yet his guard never faltered. The young girl was used to sizing people up, yet she couldn't see a weakness in the man in front of her even while hunched over.

"Now come on Little Lady, I'm just an honest thief, just like you, and I don't much like seeing little fighters like yourself be treated like the scum of Remnant."

Roman nodded his head a bit with a soft smile, holding out the peace offering to the girl, a rather delicious looking neapolitan sundae. The young girl could only drag herself forward inch by inch, holding out a single hand to take the cup, another look of worry on her face going between Roman and the ice cream.

"C'mon," he remarked while chuckling, "I'm sure neither of us wanna just sit here in the pouring rain, so maybe taking the ice cream would be just a bit smarter than worrying about me."

After the ice cream was taken out of his hands, Roman stood up, adjusted his hat, and tapped his cane on the ground. He looked down to the girl, still shivering from the rain, but eating the ice cream with vigor and it was clear she loved the taste. After a small sigh, Roman took off the trench coat and draped it over his left arm, signaling the young girl to huddle under the new covering.

"Alright Little Lady, let's head down to my place for a bit. We can find out what happened to ya and maybe you can help me out in exchange for a place to stay. Nice deal, dontcha think?"

The girl could only look up at the now similarly drenched man in silent confusion. Surely he would explain more once they were out of the elements.

"Don't talk much, do ya? Doesn't matter to me much, I can gleam a lot from the looks people give. One of my many skills, you see. Though… I'll have to call ya something,, and Little Lady sounds so formal and long and, eeeeh. How about… Neo?"

-

A few small taps can be heard inside the bar from the top floor, and the target, Cinder, turns to look back up at the new noise. Neo confidently taps Hush over her shoulders into her other hand with a devilish grin that screams murderous intent. Not just that, but a claim to have a great deal of fun as well. 

Instantly, Neo rushes Cinder, jumping from the rail of the second floor and shatters into pieces with a feinted blow before striking again at the side. Cinder deflects both attacks before jumping back and looking at the attacker in shock.

"What are you doing?!" half gasped and half shouted Cinder as she was forced to parry a number of small jabs.

A small bout of deflected blows leads Neo to cartwheel back and spin Hush a few times before draping it over her shoulder and opening the umbrella. She stares into Cinder's very being with eyes that show great hatred and a sense of giddiness. As soon as her momentary taunt can be seen, Neo resumes the offensive, sending a flurry of quick blows from varying angles to Cinder, every parried attack's momentum merely a new plan of attack. The onslaught brings Cinder back a number of feet, to the bar counter, and she braces herself against it before finally retaliating with a heavy grunt.

Cinder's attacks are clearly stronger than those of her smaller counterpart, but they aren't nearly quick or varied enough to make any contact. As Neo simply walks back with a grin, parrying each blow before tilting her umbrella and smacking Cinder in the face with it, a blow much more akin to moral damage than physical.

With another grunt, this one more of a yell, Cinder uses Neo's attacks to fall back and kick up, slamming Neo directly in the chin and retreating to the nearby bar counter. In a matter of seconds, Neo confidently arrives opposite her foe, her grin gone and replaced solely with a look of hatred and deep yet quick thought on how to end this scum. With a quick tap of Hush, a dish on the counter is bounced up to Neo before she sends it to Cinder, stepping forward foot by foot as more dishes are launched and broken.

To both contestants, this battle was becoming quite irksome, especially to Cinder. A counterattack is launched with a flurry of swipes and kicks while Neo gracefully parries and dodges each one, making use of small movements to utilize her own and Cinder's momentum in deflecting and counter attacking each strike. As Neo ducks down for a spin kick, Cinder shows off her raw strength and surprisingly quick reflexes to grab Neo's boot and spin her a few times before throwing her back, creating a miraculous few seconds of breathing room.

Realizing that using these moments to rest would be a waste, Cinder resumes her assault, hoping to capitalize on a momentarily dazed Neo, rushing in with a series of jumping strikes and flip kicks. Neo landed gracefully from the throw (but of course), yet still had to mostly retreat from Cinder's blows. In a feat of desperation, Cinder's final flip ended with a devastating punch using her Fall Maiden powers and was mere centimeters from ending Neo's assault, and life, prematurely. Observant onlookers could even see a moment of true fear in Neo's eyes, something she'd thought she lost the capability of long ago.

The bartender finally decided enough was enough and that the spectacle of this bout likely wasn't worth the Lein in property damage and shouted at the two women to take this grudge match outside. Granted, both of the two could end everyone in the bar's life had they wanted to, but that simply left a bad taste in their mouths. Before Cinder could react, though, Neo jumped and bashed her through the window, the former landing with a thud and the latter using her Semblance to shatter into pieces. The fog outside was thick and could ideally buy some time for the girl. She was capable, sure, but her stamina wasn't infinite, and opponents that could fight back at a similar skill were very dangerous if not disposed of quickly.

Cinder merely allowed herself a small smile to form. After all, it was rare she got to have fun in a good old fight, and she was quite confident she would be the victor.

"Nice trick. You've gotten stronger… and so have I," remarked the Maiden as a fireball grew in her hand before being sent behind her, directly through the fog into the opened Hush, leaving a rather large scorch mark.

A deathly silence fell between the two as Neo sized up her opponent and walked slowly towards her. Her Semblance must have been in constant use during their fight, as her ensemble has a number of gashes and tears along the pants and vest. In addition, Roman's top hat was worn by Neo, revealing to Cinder the true intentions Neo held.

"I don't have time for your games, girl. I wasn't the one to kill your boss. You'll have to take it up with Little Red." Her words were spoken coldly and with the tiniest shred of faked apology. Neo knew better.

With a small haze of fog rolling in, Neo simply rushed in once more, pure murder written in her eyes. Cinder had to panic and create dual fire swords to parry the onslaught, and Neo relied not on strength but on devastating speed and precise movements to keep up with her opponent. One good hit could be the end of their fight, after all. Cinder spoke something of a grudge against Ruby in the midst of the chaos, though truthfully Neo tuned it out in her desperation to end the fight. Finally, an opening arose and Neo bashed Cinder's face in with the handle of her umbrella, prompting a gasped scream and an explosion of her maiden powers.

Neo collapsed at the force of the wind and was propelled a number of feet backwards, mentally chastising herself and not realizing the extent of her foe's strength. Surely she wasn't THIS outmatched? Or perhaps even if she was, the attempt alone at vengeance would be satisfying enough had she been left to die in a pool of her own blood. Anything to be by his side again…

The force of the wind finally stopped and Neo was left standing ten or so feet back in a daze. Cinder was levitating above the ground staring down at Neo using her Maiden powers but it appeared as if time had stopped. What in the world happened? As Neo surveyed her surroundings the world around her seemed to shake and soon her vision went blurry. Dammit! It couldn't end like this! What the hell was even happening? It couldn't be Cinder's work… 

Regardless of Neo's thoughts, her head began to fog as well, and moments later after some real struggle to stay up, she took a knee, and soon collapsed to the ground, unconscious.


End file.
